61 percent of Generation Mobile (Gen M) are suffering from ‘mobile guilt’ according to a global study by MobileIron.
The study focuses on an emerging demographic referred to as Gen M, which includes men ages 18-34 or those who have children under 18. This demographic rely heavily on mobile technologies for both work and personal activities.
The survey was conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of MobileIron between December 2014 and January 2015 and studied 3,500 full and part time professionals who use mobiles for work across the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Japan and the U.S. It found that 26 percent of Gen M do their work on a smartphone or tablet.
Out of the Gen M professionals in the UK, 52 percent check and/or send emails and 50 percent send texts related to work outside of work hours at least once a day. This is compared to 40 percent and 42 percent of non-Gen M workers in the UK.
60 percent of Gen M workers feel guilty for work related communications during personal hours whether they respond or not, compared to 50 percent of non-Gen M workers feeling guilty for the same reason. When it comes to using mobile devices during work, 58 percent of Gen M workers feel guilty when receiving personal communications during work hours compared with 46 percent of non-Gen M workers.
Bob Tinker, CEO, MobileIron, says:
“Mobile is fundamentally changing how we work and live. The Gen M Study, to us, reflects the emerging, connected culture of modern business. Forward-thinking companies embrace this change and understand that mobile is as much an HR program as a technology initiative. To recruit and retain the best and brightest employees, companies must establish policies that are aligned with the way employees want to work and live.”
Other statistics revealed in the study:
- 60 percent would leave their job if their employer did not allow any remote work or restricted their ability to do personal tasks at work, while only 50 percent of non-Gen M workers would leave their job for those reasons.
- 29 percent of Gen M would leave their job if their employer could access personal emails, texts, photos, or videos on their smartphones or tablets, compared with 31 percent of non-Gen M workers.
Amie Filcher is an editorial assistant at HRreview.
